CENTRAL Bank of Lesotho (CBL) has taken a firm stand to prevent illegal and unregistered companies from violating financial laws in the country.

In its capacity as the commissioner of financial institutions, and the registrar of capital markets, the bank has recently warned members of the public against two unlicensed companies including Bohlale-Ba-Bohloa Ltd and AEEX South Africa Ltd that are on a mission to scam Basotho.

The bank told Metro in an interview this week that legal actions have been taken to deal with the matter.

“We had an official engagement, in a meeting with Bohlale-Ba- Bohloa to understand the nature of business activities of the entity. The entity was also warned during the same meeting to desist from advertising its activities through the media until such time that it had acquired an approval from the bank to sell shares to the public,” the CBL Stakeholder Relations Specialist Teboho Senthebane said on Monday.

The entity, she said, was further issued with an official warning letter to desist from all these illegalities.

The company had previously issued media advertisements inviting members of the public to subscribe for its shares despite the fact that it is not licensed.

A similar warning was issued against AEEX South Africa Ltd, which was soliciting and collecting funds from the public as investments in their product under the pretense of gold bond offering.

Similarly, the company has not been authorised to sell its bonds to the public in Lesotho, meaning the said offerings are against the law.

“Members of the public are urged to exercise caution with their hard earned money and desist from entering into financial agreements with unlicensed financial institutions and or un-authorised companies based in both Lesotho and South Africa,” CBL said in a statement.